VINNOJETVO

PART FIRST.

ANALYSIS OF READING.

READING is the translation of written into spoken language. It comprehends two general divisions; ORTHOËPY and EXPRESSION.

ORTHOËPY relates to the correct pronunciation of words, and treats of the production, by the voice, of the oral elements which constitute syllables; the correct utterance and accentuation of syllables; and the linking of syllables together in the form of spoken words.

THE ART OF READING, if confined to the principles of Orthoëpy, would enable us to give intelligible, but imperfect, utterance to written ideas. EXPRESSION clothes the utterance of words with beauty and sentiment, and enables us, by modulations and intonations of the voice, to convey through the medium of sound the infinite shades of thought and emotion.

ORTHOËPY is the skeleton of speech; Expression puts upon that skeleton the vesture of life, and sends it forth as the faithful messenger of heart and brain.

ORTHOËPY.

Orthoëpy is the correct pronunciation of words. It embraces Articulation, Syllabication and Accent.

Articulation is the distinct utterance of the sounds represented by the letters of the alphabet in syllables and words.

These sounds are called ORAL ELEMENTS.

ORAL ELEMENTS are divided into three classes: VOWEL SOUNDS, SUBVOWEL SOUNDS and ASPIRATES.

ORAL ELEMENTS:

VOWEL SOUNDS,
SUBVOWEL SOUNDS,
ASPIRATES.

VOWEL SOUNDS are pure tones of the voice, represented by the vowels of the alphabet.

SUBVOWEL SOUNDS are undertones of the voice, represented by con sonants.

ASPIRATES are mere whispers, or breathings, and have no vocal sound. They are represented by consonants.

THE ORAL ELEMENTS are made by the voice and the organs of speech. The student must be made to understand the difference between the names of the letters and the oral elements themselves. In using the following tables, speak the word containing the element distinctly, then the element itself, exploding it with a variety of force, and on different degrees of pitch. Ability to utter the vocal elements with accuracy and ease may be attained by the careful exercise and education of the vocal organs.

Frequent drill on the oral elements is of the utmost importance, both for the improvement of the voice and the acquisition of a correct articulation, and should on no account be neglected. The practice of exploding the vowels with a consonant prefixed, first a subvowel, then an aspirate, is of great value in acquiring control of the organs of speech, and giving them power, flexibility and precision. It will also be found useful in drilling in the oral elements, to give them the inflections, changing from the rising to the falling, from the falling to the circumflex, as, á, à, ă, â, etc.

As the above table has been prepared with reference to its future use, as a key to the system of marking employed in the biographical sketches and explanatory notes, many substitutes, not usually included in a list of Oral Elements, have been given.

II. ORAL SUBSTITUTES.

ORAL SUBSTITUTES are other letters or combinations of letters used to represent the oral elements; as,

ai, au, ey, in the words gain, gauge, they, for ā.

A list of Oral Substitutes has not been given, for the reason that they are hard to remember when standing alone, and they will be sufficiently indicated, as they occur, by the pronunciation of words.

Their variety and frequency make the English language extremely irregular in its orthography.

III. ERRORS IN ARTICULATION.

THE MOST COMMON errors in Articulation are of four kinds, as follows: First. LEAVING OUT A SYLLABLE; as hist'ry for history; int'rest for interest.

Second. LEAVING OUT AN ORAL ELEMENT OR SOUND; as, fiel's for fields; goin' for going.

Third. CHANGE OF A VOWEL SOUND; as, git for get; sence for since; winder for window; childrin for children.

Fourth. BLENDING OF WORDS; as, On neither side a notion exists, for, On either side an ocean exists.

In learning to articulate clearly, be careful not to acquire a habit of drawling.

AVOID CHANGING THE ACCENT; as, for instance, in giving the sound of a in the word metrical be careful not to pronounce it met ri cal', with the accent on the last instead of the first syllable.

UNACCENTED SYLLABLES should be pronounced as distinctly as those which are accented, less force and prolongation of voice being used; as in stillness, kindness, travel.

FINAL CONSONANTS.

Oral Elements, represented by final consonants, should be prolonged and uttered with great distinctness; as, He attempts to hide his angry acts.

II. SYLLABICATION.

Syllabication relates to the division of words into syllables.

I. SYLLABLES.

A SYLLABLE is a word, or part of a word, uttered by a single effort of the voice.

A MONOSYLLABLE is a word of one syllable; as, house.

A DISSYLLABLE is a word of two syllables; as, house-less.

A TRISYLLABLE is a word of three syllables; as, de-range-ment.

A POLYSYLLABLE is a word of more than three syllables; as, con-grat-u-lation.

THE ULTIMATE is the last syllable of a word; as, gle in single.

THE PENULT is the last syllable but one of a word; as, tru in in-tru-sion. THE ANTEPENULT is the last syllable but two of a word; as, sti in con-sti-tution.

A SPOKEN WORD is one or more oral elements used to express an idea.
A WRITTEN WORD is one or more letters used as the sign of an idea.
Words are divided into PRIMITIVE, DERIVATIVE, SIMPLE and COMPOUND.

A PRIMITIVE WORD is not derived from any other word, but is a root from which other words spring; as, fix, pain.

A DERIVATIVE WORD is formed from a primitive by placing a syllable before it, called a prefix, or by adding a syllable to it, called an affix, as in prefix, painful.

A SIMPLE WORD is one that cannot be divided without destroying the sense; as, ink, book.

A COMPOUND WORD is formed by two or more simple words; as, ink-stand, book-binder.

A PHRASE is a combination of words not expressing an entire proposition,